Bed Bug Control

Bed Bug infestations are growing at an alarming rate in the Portland Metro area over the past decade and unfortunately, they are also the most difficult pest problem that we treat. If you think you might have bed bugs in your home, it is important to act quickly so that they do not spread and reproduce. If you are unsure if you have bed bugs, but think you might have brought them home with you, here are some characteristics to be looking out for:

-Bed bugs are fairly flat and brownish red in color. An adult is about the size and shape of a small watermelon seed.

-They generally bite in clusters of 3 or more. Since they are attracted to CO2, these bites often occur on the upper body and can leave behind small droplets of blood that will show up on bed sheets.

If you are seeing these signs, your first reaction might be to stop sleeping in the bed that you are getting bit in, but you might want to think twice about that. Remember, they are drawn towards CO2, so if you leave, they will likely follow you. There are some pest infestations that you can possibly take care of on your own, but bed bugs are not one that we would recommend trying to handle on your own. The over the counter products that are available today have not been proven to be effective. In fact, “bug bombs” can even be extremely counter productive because of their repellent qualities that tend to drive the bed bugs even deeper into their nesting area without actually killing them. On top of this, they have developed a resistance to many different types of pesticides over the past couple of decades and the products you find at a department store just simply do not get the job done.

The second factor that you should consider is their reproductive rate. A female bed bug can lay over 500 eggs in her lifetime. Also, after biting, they typically will mate directly afterwards. So, along with the bites you are seeing, more reproduction is likely happening. A situation can quickly get out of hand and make it exponentially harder to get under control the longer you wait in addressing them.

Many people want to know where the bed bugs came from and how did they get brought into their home, but this is something that may be impossible to figure out. Bed bugs like to “hitchhike” and could potentially be picked up anywhere. We have seen them in movie theaters, airports, changing rooms and even five star hotels. However, the most common areas are always going to be places that have lots of people coming and going.

What You Can Do?

Although taking care of the problem completely on your own may not be possible, there are several things that you can do to help. You can start by putting all of your sheets and linens in the dryer on high heat for 30 minutes which will kill off any of the bugs or their eggs. Vacuuming is also an effective way to pick up eggs. Vacuum often and then empty the container outside and clean with bleach water.

What We Can Do?

We can do a wide variety of pest control treatment plans that are custom designed for your specific situation. With bed bugs, we have found that a combination of pesticide products in conjunction with other measures such as mattress covers, monitoring tools or heat treatments are the most effective way to get rid of them. Our pricing model is among the lowest in the industry and our results speak for themselves. If you would like to get some help in getting rid of bed bugs, we invite you to give us a call. We would be happy to have you contact us so that we can set up a free, no obligation inspection or just answer a few questions for you.